Rich Uncle Quentin
Quentin Craufurd
by Jane (Craufurd) Hoyle, UK
 |
Robert's and Quintin's paths first crossed in India. Robert never well-off, was envious of his Uncle's affluence. As at the time he had just received a small legacy, he combined it with the proceeds of the sale of his commission, in a business venture which failed. The sale of his commission was the worst mistake he made and was to dog him for the rest of his life. But that is another story.
To return to Quintin, he was the younger son of Sir Alexander Craufurd, an impoverished Scottish landowner, and was brought up in straightened circumstances. Because of this, he decided to make his fortune and before he was 20 years old, he joined the East India Company with a letter of recommendation from an aristocratic family friend in his pocket. Some of his activities with the company were military, one from which he gained financially, was worthy of Marshal Massena, other parts of his duties were diplomatic and commercial.
He made enough money after twenty years' service to live luxuriously in Paris, the city of his dreams. He had at the end of his tour fallen in love with Eleonora, the daughter of an Italian trapeze artist, who was to be his companion, and later his wife, for the rest of his life. Prior to meeting him, Eleonora had led an interesting life with many admirers including the Duke of Würtenberg by whom she had two natural children, only one of who survived. The affair lasted two years, the Duke taking full responsibility for his children, educating them, and giving each one a title. When this affair faded, she moved to the Court at Vienna where the Empress Maria Theresa's son fell in love with her. But the redoubtable Empress soon put a stop to this and Eleonora moved on to fresh romantic adventures. She then married a Mr Sullivan, an Irish business man of good standing, and went with him to India where she met Quintin.
Europe
On leaving the Far East, Quintin and Eleonora travelled round Europe, collecting artefacts for their Paris home, where they settled in 1783, and led an active social life, until 1789, the year of the Revolution. As soon as they arrived, they set about organising many sparkling salons which were the talk of 19th century Paris. They were well qualified to do so as Quintin was extremely wealthy and an intellectual, and Mrs Sullivan was a very beautiful woman, and to be pro-British was very fashionable. They became friends with Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI. Quintin's wealth increased his influence, enabling him to lend money to needy influential friends, Talleyrand (later Napoleon's Foreign Minister) being one of the beneficiaries.
Quintin did not lose touch with his friends in Britain. Prime Minister Pitt regarded him as a useful source of information about the developing political storms in France. After 1789, the French authorities rated such activities as espionage, and Quintin, with his well-known royalist sympathies found life somewhat complicated.
Quintin and Eleonora, met another royalist supporter at one of their salons, Count Axel de Fersen, who was to play a large and intimate part in their life for some time. Fersen, a noted womaniser, struck up a lively rapport with Mrs Sullivan at an early stage. By the summer of 1790, Quintin, Fersen and Eleonora were thinking about a rescue plan for the royal family. The Queen's staff were worried about tabloid-type gossip, circulating Paris at the time, that Fersen was a close personal friend of the Queen. Eleonora's affair with Fersen was well-known, and was considered by the couple to be an appropriate smoke-screen to counter such rumours.
To enable Fersen to plan the escape, he needed easy access to the royal apartments and so a side door at the Tuileries palace was left unguarded by anxious officials. The Queen was becoming neurotic. Her husband seemed incapable of protecting her from the gathering political storms, and she was getting no support from her Austrian relations. She felt that the only support she was getting was from Fersen, her 'grand ami'.'
Although Eleonora's salons were highly regarded, not every-one was polite about their hostess. The Prince of Wales, one of her guests described her as no better than an apple seller. When he saw her dancing the fandango with the Spanish Ambassador, he told a friend that he thought he would die laughing. Lady Longford when writing about 18th and 19th century Paris describes her as 'that dreadful Mrs Craufurd' (as she later became).
Rescue Planning
Planning the rescue of the royal family proceeded apace. Quintin's part was to supply 300,000 livres towards its cost. The planning and residual finance was left to Fersen, who was enthusiastically helped by Mrs Sullivan. She ordered the coach and arranged forged passports through the Russian Ambassador, a royalist sympathiser. The ostentatious vehicle, a large green berline, was parked outside Fersen's house at an early stage, and did not go unnoticed by the revolutionary authorities.
In the meantime, Quintin went to London to inform the British government about the latest political situation in Paris, hoping that the bad news would generate financial and diplomatic support to the stricken royals. But Pitt's neutrality never wavered.
Two coaches were used for the escape - one to take the royal family to the Barrière St Martin where they transferred to the green berline which had been driven there by Fersen's staff. Fersen, disguised as a coachman, took over the driving. He was very knowledgeable, a skilful linguist and a great asset to the royal cause. But the King dithered, and when they reached Bondy, he dismissed Fersen, anxious, he said, for his safety. The royal party was stopped at Varenne and forced to return to Paris. The King's altruism, proved to be a fatal error of judgment. Marie Antoinette's reaction to the decision is not known.
While Quintin was in London Eleonora escaped from Paris and was joined by Fersen at Mons on the 22nd June. They assumed that the escape had been successful. They knew nothing about the debacle at Varenne. Quintin, while in London received a letter from Eleonora with what she believed to be good news. It was some time before they heard what had actually happened. The Swedish King, pro-royalist, wanted Fersen to go to London to negotiate with Pitt for help. Knowing that this was a waste of time, Fersen went instead to Vienna with a view to persuading the family to help Marie Antoinette. But the Austrian government, like the British preferred neutrality.
By the 8th October, the three friends were reunited in Brussels at the Hôtel Bellvue. As, clearly, France was a no-go area at this time, Quintin rented a villa in Brussels. Fersen wrote to his beloved Queen in code: letters, with the support of Quintin and Eleonora were still reaching her at this stage. Meantime, Mrs Sullivan sent for her natural daughter by the Duke of Würtenberg. The young Princess helped her mother to run the Brussels establishment.
As a result of Quintin's well-known royalist sympathies, his house in the Rue de Clichy was threatened by revolutionary thugs. Loyal staff, looking after the establishment, managed to convince the crowd that the house belonged to a French national, and the situation eased for a time. Quintin and Eleonora, greatly concerned, returned discreetly to Paris to investigate what was going on. Fersen did not accompany them. Quintin paid a lone visit to the Queen who reminisced sadly about her happy childhood days in Vienna. A few days later, Fersen, unbeknown to his friends, also paid a visit to the Queen, having obtained a false passport. He spent the night of the 14th February at the Tuileries Palace under the pretext of making further plans for another escape attempt.
After this Fersen returned to Brussels to be joined shortly after by Quintin and Eleonora. Her relationship with Fersen was starting to annoy Quintin. Fersen, perhaps unkindly, made it clear that he did not want Quintin involved in any further escape planning as he felt his involvement with the royals was too well-known!. Quintin suggested to the Queen earlier that she and the Dauphin should leave France without the King, but she did not want to do this. This suggestion was probably made at Quintin's final meeting with the Queen when he bade her a haunting farewell. He returned to Brussels at the end of the month where he was joined once more by Fersen and Mrs Sullivan.
Meanwhile, Eleonora's daughter, the young Princess, had fallen in love with, and married the young Comte d'Orsay. Mrs Sullivan, socially ambitious, must have been delighted that Fate had allied her daughter to one of the oldest aristrocratic families in France. While the Count was on active service with the Austrian army, the young Countess stayed with her mother in Brussels.
Stayed Together
Craufurd, Fersen and Eleonora stayed together for a while longer, united only by their affection for the French royal family. Fersen's diplomatic status by this time was uncertain as Gustave III, an enthusiastic royalist had been assassinated, and his successor, like Austria and Britain, preferred to be neutral. Fersen wrote what was probably his last letter to the Queen: "M Craufurd and myself are very worried about your situation". For obvious reasons, Eleonora was not mentioned: she was, meanwhile, making herself ill with worry about the fate of her royal friends. Because of Sweden's neutrality, she wanted Quintin to return to London to try once more to persuade the British government to take a more constructive stance regarding the royals. But nothing came of this. The Bishop of Pamiers, with the King's blessing, went instead, but Pitt refused to see him. The trio then tried to enlist Prussian support but after the bombardment of Valmy, Prussia also went neutral.
Mrs Sullivan continued holding her salons in Brussels, where she learned that Louis XVI had been condemned to death. Fersen was broken-hearted so Mrs Sullivan used her charms to try and mitigate his grief but the relationship of the three friends was fast deteriorating. They were united only by their belief that the Queen could still be rescued. What plans that existed were thrown into confusion as Fersen's diplomatic mission in Brussels was complete and he was becoming homesick for his native Sweden. He was offered a diplomatic post in London which he refused as it would have meant leaving the Queen to her fate and deserting Eleonora too. Then there was talk of Quintin and Eleonora living in London. Fersen thought about pre-empting this idea by taking her to Italy, but this idea too was stillborn.
He started fantasising. Marie-Antoinette would become Mère Régente and he would become one of her chief advisers. In the meantime, Quintin and Eleonora, in the company of Lord Elgin had departed for London Fersen's dithering continued. He was sure that, without the Queen, the only person who could keep him emotionally afloat was Mrs Sullivan. She was, after all, starting to think about settling down. But Sweden would be too cold for her. Perhaps Italy was the answer. He wondered if she was not tiring of the ageing Quintin. He could, he felt, offer her a better permanent relationship.
Quintin appeared unaware of all this as Fersen wrote - "He hides no secrets from her; he tells her everything." In the meantime, the Queen had been executed which left Fersen in a state of emotional shock. He continued dithering. He doubted whether he had enough respect for Eleonora for a long term satisfying relationship. "I really must find some good in her character and feelings amid her social clumsiness and gaffes which I find hard to tolerate," he wrote to a member of his family. The last communication he had from the Queen before her execution was a card from her to her "grand ami" bearing her personal crest and motto "Tutto a te me guida" (Everything guides me to you).
With the death of both the King and Queen the relationships of the trio deteriorated still further. Quintin became withdrawn, perhaps as a result of the emotional strains of Eleonora's relationship with Fersen. When he was not doing diplomatic work for Lord Auckland, he was "being very rude to every-one, crazy and living in a world of his own with Mme Sullivan whom he treats very badly". A kind of sulky rivalry was developing between him and Fersen.
As the French armies returned to Brussels in 1794 the trio moved to Frankfurt to be near the d'Orsays. At this time Fersen heard of his father's death and returned to Sweden to claim his inheritance. Although still undecided about whether or not to marry Mme Sullivan, before leaving, he arranged an annuity of 24,000 livres for her for life, and left her his silver which was stored in London.
Weak Links
Having settled his affairs in Sweden, Fersen stayed on for a while but, attractive roué that he was he became bored with the social adulation he received there. Mrs Sullivan on the other hand, was less sure about the wisdom of a permanent relationship with him. The French royals being no more, the links between the trio were becoming very weak. Fersen was posted to Darmstadt from where he wrote a loving letter to Mrs Sullivan which was delivered in error to Quintin who opened it and was understandably furious. Hardly surprising,as a result, he fell out with Fersen for good, and after a prolonged sulk married Mrs Sullivan.
Fersen, meanwhile, when in Sweden was alleged by the French tabloid press to have been involved in the poisoning of the Crown Prince, the Duke of Augustenbourg. As a result, when riding in his carriage one day, he was dragged out of it by the mob and lynched on the 19th anniversary of the flight of the Royals to Varenne.
The Treaty of Amiens was signed. Quintin returned to France and had the squestration order on his house in the Rue de Clichy removed and obtained compensation for the loss of his furniture and objets d'art. The young Countess d'Orsay was re-united with her husband and had a son in 1801 and a daughter, Ida Quintina in 1802.
The Treaty of Amiens meant a year's peace in Europe. Once war was declared, Quintin and any English in France would find things rather difficult. Robert Craufurd and his elder brother Sir James were exchanged for French expatriates stranded in England. Because of Quintin's friendship with Talleyrand, and his sizeable bank balance, the police were told to distance themselves from him unless he showed active hostility to the Government of the day. He was described as "an unobtrusive sort of fellow, under the spell of this woman [Eleonora], but his highly regarded as a person for his good nature and his financial status. He is friendly with M Talleyrand and his friends and he treats the French government with respect." (There is a theory that at one stage Quintin might have been suggested as a negotiator with the British, but this never materialised.)
Mme Craufurd was described by the authorities as "a scheming woman, of a wicked disposition, who speaks disrespectfully about the French government and anything connected with it." Talleyrand's business failed around that time and he borrowed 200,000 livres from Quintin, mortgaging his house in the Rue de Varenne. Craufurd moved up market to a house in the Rue d'Anjou. Talleyrand, although politically disgraced, continued to frequent the Craufurd salons until his death.
As by 1809 Talleyrand's influence was in decline, Quintin needed a new sponsor which turned out to be the Empress Josephine who, despite her divorce remained on good terms with the Emperor. Craufurd and his wife used to dine with her tous les lundis at Malmaison, and they used to go to concerts there too.
Quintin by this time had managed to rebuild his collection of artefacts and to decorate his new house to its former standard of opulence. An Austrian diplomat in Paris in Paris described his hostess (who quite wrongly called herself "Lady Craufurd") as "Goodly and well proportioned … and an excellent and obliging hostess." Despite the occasional gaffe, she was certainly an amazing personality. She continued to run the salons even after Quintin's death in 1821. The Duke of Wellington paid frequent visits to these salons during the occupation. She was always popular in royalist circles and, even after her marriage was known as Mme Sullivan as that was her name when she did so much for the late royals. She had, we are told, a large face which at the salons was crowned by a wig of barbary sheepskin, died black and waved, and on this was perched a diadem which some-one described as being like a chandelier.
The Craufurds were in Paris at the time of the abdication. The Allies interviewed Josephine to see if the Emperor was likely to commit suicide as a result of his military reverses. She assured them that he was an optimist and that he was in love with life.
restoration
After the restoration, life became sweet for Quintin and Eleonora; they were able to travel round Europe again, including trips to England and Scotland. The latter days of his life were clouded by the activities of his nephew Sir James Craufurd who tried to stir up surreptitious trouble for his Uncle. As a result of this an expulsion order was drawn up against Quintin but which was never enforced. Records of this can be seen today in the Bibliotèque National de la Ville de Paris.
Sir James hated Eleonora whom he regarded as an upstart, and, not unnaturally this offended Quintin who left his entire fortune to the d'Orsay family, so Sir James hated them too. So jealous was he that none of his nephew's wealth was going to the Craufurds in England that after Quintin's death he tried to break into the house in the Rue d'Anjou and got himself into a good deal of trouble with the legal authorities as a result.
A memorial to Quintin's good taste remains today in the Residence of the British Embassy in the Faubourg St Honoré. Quintin negotiated for its purchase on behalf of the British Government from Pauline Borghese, Napoleon's sister. Quintin's step grandson, known as the "Prince of Dandys" was no mean painter, and there are a number of his works in the Paris Embassy, and also one in the British National Art Collection of the Duke of Wellington.
Quintin, together with Ida Quintina, his step grand-daughter, is buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Curiously the name of Mrs Eleonora Craufurd is nowhere to be seen.
|
At the top of the Craufurd family tree is Sir Alexander Craufurd, the first baronet, whose brother Quintin is the hero of my tale. The next generation holds the wicked Sir James, the second Baronet, a successful but unstable diplomat, who turns up later in my tale, and his well-known brother, Major General Robert Craufurd of the Light Division.